IC4 VTE Flashcards
Virchow’s Triad
- Hypercoagulability
- Vascular damage / vessel injury
- Circulatory / venous stasis
Examples of risk factors based on Virchow’s Triad
Hypercoagulability
- Inflammation (release of hypercoagulable chemicals)
- Estrogen, Tamoxifen
- Dehydration
- Infection and sepsis
- Protein C and S deficiency
- Factor VIII, XI excess
- APS antibodies
- Pregnancy + up to 6w post partum
Vascular damage
- Thrombophlebitis
- Cellulitis
- Atherosclerosis
- Trauma
- Venous catheters
Circulatory Stasis
- Immobility
- Surgery
- Polycythemia
- Venous obstruction (obesity, tumor, pregnancy)
- AFib
- Congenital abnormalities affecting venous anatomy
- Bradycardia
- Low BP
Distal VS Proximal DVT
- List the veins involved
Distal:
- Peroneal, anterior tibial, posterior tibial veins
Proximal:
- popliteal, femoral, iliac veins
- more likely to embolise (IVC => right heart => PE)
Explain how PE might lead to circulatory collapse
PE can result in occlusion of blood flow to lung => impaired gaseous exchange => necrosis => impaired O2 delivery to other organs => fatal circulatory collapse
Infarction of lung tissue => back damming into heart => right ventricle failure => left ventricle failure
S&S of DVT
Differential diagnosis
Symptoms:
- Leg swelling, pain, warmth (non-specific, hence require testing)
- Unilateral
- May present with fever
Signs:
- Palpable cord in leg (dilated superficial vein)
- Homan’s sign - pain in the back of the knee when foot is flexed
*Differential diagnosis:
- cellulitis (CUS to identify clots)
- HF: fluid overload (bilateral)
S&S of PE
Differential diagnosis
(Usually underlying DVT)
Symptoms:
- Cough, chest pain, chest tightness, SOB, palpitation, hemoptysis, pleural effusion
- Dizziness, light-headedness (due to poor perfusion, circulatory collapse)
Signs:
- Tachypnea, tachycardia, diaphoretic (sweating)
- Neck vein distended
- Cyanotic, hypotensive
- Oxymetry: hypoxic
- Cardiogenic shock
*Differential diagnosis:
- MI (both MI and PE can present with ECG changes)
Explain the patho of hemoptysis and pleuritic chest pain in PE
Small distal emboli can create areas of alveolar hemorrhage, thus leading to hemoptysis, pleuritis, pleuritic chest pain, pleural effusion
DVT diagnosis
- Wells-DVT Score
- If >2 points, imaging with whole leg or proximal CUS
- If 0-2 points, perform D-dimer (if D-dimer positive –> imaging)
- Distal DVT –> anticoagulation or surveillance
- Proximal DVT –> initiate anticogulation
[DVT diagnosis]
Other investigations to exclude differential diagnosis
- FBC rule out infection (although blood shift can occur in DVT/PE, total whites can incr in MI)
- Procalcitonin - rule out infection
- Renal panel
- NT-proBNP - rule out HF
D-dimer is a by-product of?
Degradation of fibrin mesh (when plasmin cleaves fibrin)
[DVT diagnosis]
Explain the utility of D-dimer
What are some other conditions that can raise D-dimer?
Good negative predictive value (pre-test probability, rule-in rule-out)
- If negative –> can rule out DVT
- If positive –> cannot confirm DVT
Other conditions that can raise D-dimer:
- pregnancy
- malignancy
- pneumonia
- heart failure
- post-surgery
[DVT diagnosis]
Well’s score:
1 point each:
- Active cancer (ongoing tx or within previous 6m)
- Paralysis/paresis/immobilization of lower extremities
- Recently bedridden for >3 days or major surgery within 4 weeks
- Localized tenderness
- Entire leg swollen
- Calf swelling by more than 3cm (measured 10cm below tibial tuberosity)
- Pitting edema
- Collateral superficial veins (non varicose)
High probability: 3 and above
Mod probability: 1-2
Low probability: 0
=> DVT likely: 2 or greater
=> DVT unlikely: 1 or less
[VTE treatment]
Acute treatment of VTE
- Key principles
- Thrombolytic therapy is only considered in pt with severe cardiopulmonary compromise or DVT with high risk of limb loss, thrombolytic therapy must be followed by anticoagulation with UFH or LMWH
- If pt has active bleeding, unable to use anticoagulation, AND VTE is in lower extremity, consider IVC filter
- If pt is suitable for outpatient VTE tx (no active bleeding, no PE, not CI w anticoagulants), consider: DOAC/LMWH/Warfarin
- If pt is unsuitable for outpatient VTE tx (e.g., due to poor prognosis), consider: DOAC/LMWH/UFH/Warfarin
- If pt is unsuitable for outpatient VTE tx and CrCl <30ml/min, consider: UFH x5d with Warfarin overlap
[VTE treatment]
- Apixaban
Apixaban 10mg BD x7d, followed by 5mg BD for 3-6months
Extended: 2.5mg BD
Preferred as it is subsidized (SDL2), however, less convenient than Riva due to twice daily dosing
[VTE treatment]
- Rivaroxaban
Rivaroxaban 15mg BD x21d, followed by 20mg OD for 3-6m
Extended: 10mg OD
[VTE treatment]
- Dabigatran/Edoxaban
UFN/LMWH/fondaparinux (subQ) for first 5d,
followed by Dabigatran 150mg BD or Edoxaban 60mg OD
*LMWH first line, unless CrCl <30 then use UFH